German prince hailed as 'brilliant jockey' dies after being thrown from his horse

Prince Georg-Constantin of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, 41, was horse-riding near Apethorpe Palace in Northamptonshire, where he lives with British wife Olivia Rachelle Page, 39, when he fell off his horse and died shortly afterward.
(CEN)

A German prince has died in the U.K. after being thrown from his horse in a riding accident.

Prince Georg-Constantin of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, 41, was riding with his friend Jean Christophe Iseux, Baron von Pfetten, on Saturday when the tragedy struck in the ground of the baron’s home Apethorpe Palace, Northamptonshire.

Emergency services were called to the scene around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, to a man suffering life-threatening injuries. He was later pronounced dead.

The prince was the designated successor of the German aristocratic House of Saxe Weimar Eisenach, which is the oldest branch of the House of Wettin, according to Deutsche Welle, a German media company.

Prince Michael, 71, the current head of the line, said he was “deeply shocked” by his nephew’s sudden death.

The prince was the designated successor of the German aristocratic Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, which is the oldest branch of the House of Wettin
(CEN)

Prince George-Constantin moved to Britain in 2015 after marrying English woman Olivia Rachelle Page, 38, in 2015. They met at Last Night of the Proms in London’s Hyde Park four years ago. She was a director at her husband’s firm, renewable energy company Sustainability Factory Ltd, until April and now works as an office manager.

A co-worker at the firm told The Sun: “It is incredibly sad and has happened very recently. We expect her [Princess Olivia] to be off for some time.”

Alexander-Fisk Harrison, who knew both the prince and the baron, paid tribute to his friend, who he hailed as a “brilliant jockey” and a “remarkable man.”

“We were good friends. His wife and my ex-fiancee were best friends and neighbors in London,” he told MailOnline.

“He was a genuinely lovely guy. Despite being a prince he rarely spoke about it.

“A friend once joked that technically he out-ranked the Queen because his family is more senior than the UK Royal family.”